This picture shows a general view of a site where energy company IGas has permission to carry out exploratory drilling for shale gas at Barton Moss in Manchester on January 13, 2014 (AFP Photo / Paul Ellis) / AFP

The European Union’s attempts to set legally binding regulations for shale gas extraction have been defeated after the UK and a number of EU states argued that current EU regulations are sufficient to keep fracking safe.

European Commission’s leaked draft documents, obtained by the
Euractiv news service reveal that UK, Poland, Hungary and the Czech
Republic opposed the creation of union-wide regulation of shale
gas extraction techniques and methods.

Instead of adopting EU-wide regulations, according to the draft,
the states will be asked to follow a number of non-binding
“recommendations” covering a range of protective
measures against water contamination and other hazardous
environmental impacts.

EU nations engaged in fracking would be asked to present
“scorecards” within six months, outlining which EU
recommendations have been instigated. If such recommended
practices fail to protect the environment, the commission will
reconvene to set new legally binding standards in July 2015. The
set guidelines wouldn’t interfere with a nation’s sovereign right
to ban fracking.

Before any new drills could be allowed in any of the EU states,
the document says, the EU would require environmental impact
assessments and public consultation campaigns.

“A site should only be selected if the risk assessment
conducted under this chapter demonstrates that no direct
discharge of pollutants into groundwater will result from high
volume hydraulic fracturing,” the document says, defining
high volume as the injection of 1000 cubic meters or more of
water per “frack.”

Any undertaking of extraction should be “constructed in a way
which prevents possible surface leaks and spills to soil, water
or air,” while water flows and methane emissions should be
tracked and captured by “specific infrastructure,” the
draft states.

Companies contracted for shale gas extractions will be obliged to
monitor the make-up of the fracturing fluid at each site as well
as the volume of water used and pressure utilized during
extraction. Firms are also asked to monitor any of the fluids
that surface during the process.

European Commission is set to unveil recommendations on shale gas
extraction on January 22, and plans to review implementation of
guidelines in July 2015. If not satisfied, the commission may
consider making them legally binding.

The proposal of voluntary guidelines is a triumph for
industrialist groups and governments of Poland and the UK who are
leading shale drilling in Europe. It’s also a major defeat for
environmental protection groups such as the Greenpeace and the
Friends of the Earth who were lobbying for creation of EU-wide
laws.
“Existing EU legislation and national laws already cover
shale-gas operations in a comprehensive way,” said
Alessandro Torello, a spokesman for the International Association
of Oil & Gas Producers in Europe.

“This is obviously a very disappointing and alarming
proposal,” Antoine Simon, shale-gas campaigner for Friends
of the Earth Europe was quoted by Bloomberg News. It “ignores
the studies the commission published and fails to protect
Europe’s citizens from the health and
environmental risks of unconventional and dirty fossil
fuels.”

“I think it is sad that the European Commissioners are
protecting the interests of a handful of fossil fuel companies
rather than the interests of Europe’s citizens,” the Green
MEP Claude Turmes told EurActiv.

The EU proposals have “nothing in the way of real protection
for the thousands of ordinary people who will see their lives and
local areas turned upside down if the fracking industry gets its
way,” Lawrence Carter, a climate campaigner at Greenpeace in
London, said in an e-mail to Bloomberg.

“This is likely to be only the beginning,” Caroline May,
head of safety and environment at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright
LLP in London was quoted by Businessweek. “The difficulties
for the regulators are the political differences across member
states and the differing reserves, which mean that some countries
can ‘afford’ to have no policy or to protest, whereas for others
like the UK there is a real resource as well as financial
imperative.”

London is proposing tax breaks and other financial perks to its
shale industry. Prime Minister David Cameron has been campaigning
for local authorities to approve shale developments offering
millions of pounds to develop new jobs and attract investment.

In December, Cameron wrote a letter to José Manuel Barroso, the
president of the EC, saying it was “essential the EU minimise
the regulatory burdens and costs on industry and domestic bill
payers by not creating uncertainty or introducing new
legislation.” The shale gas industry in the UK “has told
us that new EU legislation would delay imminent investment,”
Cameron added.

On Tuesday, Cameron defended his stance on shale gas before the
Commons Liaison Committee calling opponents “irrational”
and “religiously opposed” who “can’t bear the
thought of another carbon-based fuel.”

Cameron said that fracking is a “real opportunity” for
UK to tackle gas shortages in the future. The PM also stressed
that he is in favor of “cash payments to householders”
directly affected by fracking, saying that the industry already
pledged £100,000 per site in “community benefits,” and
up to 1% of revenues from extraction. Fracking, Cameron estimates
would provide up to 74,000 jobs and generate £3.5 billion of
investment.

But not everyone in the UK is pleased with the European
Commission’s decision of voluntary guidelines, as maps published
by the government in December revealed that over 60 percent of
the UK’s topography could be available for fracking licenses.

Keith Taylor, the Green party MEP from Sussex said that the UK
government “may be pleased with this result but those living
near shale gas reserves will be very worried,” as quoted by
the Guardian.

Tom Greatrex, shadow energy minister, told the publication that
the leaked documents “demonstrate that Cameron sees
regulation as an inhibitor of activity rather than a
safeguard".

“By taking such a cavalier stance, he is likely to entrench
opposition to fracking rather than taking the responsible
approach of ensuring robust regulation and comprehensive
monitoring to address the legitimate environmental concerns many
people have,” Greatrex added.